Time for most of us to be planning "victory gardens"

[The Future]

I think the problem is less with the Moringa an dmore with me.  I have 2 in the ground in a decent location and they are doing fine.  The rest have had to battle with thin soil on top on limestone or weed (cane grass) or winter (well ok Bermuda winter).  I also have some in large pots (25 gallon) and they are doing ok.  Once I get my own seed supply going, I will get it right eventually.  As an aside, I was somehwhat intimidated by the bottle type moringa....doesn't appear to be as tolerant to coppicing...so i haven't planted it.  Must do though while the seeds are still viable.

[The Future]

Update.  4 moringa have survived (out of 14) in the yard.  One was cut to the ground by accident, twice!  Otherwise just finished a major push to get prepped for fall planting the last 4 days.  Short season corn, 4 types of winter squash (short season), ethiopian kale,  about 6 types of lettuce, 6 types of chard, white onions, ishikura spring onions, malabar spinach, ahipa, sweet potatoe, potatoe, black chick peas, carrots (4 types including the tropical seed producing uber landia and yellow, purple and white ones too), 7 beds of chia, banana trees, jackfruit, cherimoya, echinacea, beets (yellow, chioggia, early), thyme, parsely, coriander, guava, niseberry, strawberry, cocoyams, callaloo (amaranth), sugar pod peas, cabbage (giant, savoy, wakefield), about 12 types of tomatoes.....that's what I can recall off the top of my head.

There's much more.  I have been sticking with jeavons suggestion +70% for high calorie items and keeping the salads on the fringes of my keyhole beds.

My 'old' pumpkin is renewing itself and putting more male flowers out but I may just harvest the leaves and make the space it is taking up ready for more food....got 3 pumpkins left on the vine (12 harvested).  Yesterday's pick seemed small but weighed in at 12 pounds.

Vine ripened!

[Atash Hagmahani]

You can grow Jackfruit?!

[The Future]

I have seedlings that were planted in January.  I was blessed to come across a bearing tree during a trip to Sierra Leone and ate the fruit the day I travelled, brought back 75 seeds.  Most germinated (I planted 2 per pot) so I have almost 30 odd seedlings.  As far as fruit trees I am also growing peach, persimmon, jujube, cherimoya, soursop, sugar apple, white sapote, mamey sapote.  I have some noni but killed it.

[The Future]

Finished the next phase of planting this evening.  Exhausted and my feet hurt.  Keeping up with weeding is taking many hours.  But the space is starting to look like a real garden.  Interesting how caterpillars are killing some leaves (zuke, butterbush squash) but aren't touching others that are a few feet away (sweet potato, seminola squash). 

[The Future]

Here is another look at the victory garden for food security.

$3.63 for 6 chard leaves?  Grow your own.

[The Future]

Ok.  Most of this month's seedlings are seeding - 432 yesterday - with a few trays remaining to do today.  It has been bitterly cold still and windy so some of what was in the field was damaged or destroyed.  Tomatoes have been few are far between and most were killed.  I do have a Kosovo (seed from Atash!) that I did not prop up in any way shape or form that is lying on a weed barrier.  It must be 6 ft "tall" now.  Flowers but no fruit.  Mind you, fruit seem to sneak up on me until they turn from green. 

The list of what I planted is perhaps too long to post but reast assured, this year we will have no less than 150 unique items in the plot.  TW's TPS is in - 5 types I think.  And the green zebra / OSU blu F2.  Another 10 tomato types, 10 types of squash the list goes on.  Next month will be the start of phase II.  Will stick with the early season tomatoes and they switch to mid-season ones in April.

By the way, moringa doesn't look like any decent type of hedge if you have wind.  While its ability to comeback is amaxzing, it gets whipped to a leafless stump in high winds....guava for the front yard hedge will be try # 2 then...

We have another 70 mph blw this weekend...this must be 5 weekends in a row now...you can check some pictures out here.

[The Future]

Actually here is my Feb list.

Achocha
Agave Tequiliana
Amaranth, Opopeo, Heirloom
Andean Yam Bean
Anise Hyssop Agastache
Anise-Hyssop
ASHWAGANDA
Asparagus Pea
Asparagus, Mary Washington
Astragalus
Astragalus membranaceaus, Huang Qi
Astragalus, Chinese Milkvetch
Bean, adzuki
Bean, black eye pea
Bean, mapte, black
Bean, Vanilla (Bourbon/Madagascar cross)
Beans, Butter, Sierra Leone (varied colours)
Beans, Cherokee Trail of Tears, Heirloom
Beans, Fava, Climbing
Beans, Kentucky Wonder, Bean Pole Snap
Beans, Wax bush, Burre De Roquencourt
BEET, CHIOGGIA 
Black beans
Cabbage, Early Jersey Wakefield, Heirloom
Cabbage, Frigga Savoy
Carrot, Dragon Purple
Carrot, Kurota Chantenay
Carrot, Shin Kuroda 5", Heirloom
Carrot, Snow White
CARROT, YELLOWSTONE
Cashew
Cauliflower, Snowball Early
Chard, 5 Color Silverbeet, Heirloom
Chard, Golden
CHARD, ORANGE FANTASIA   
Chard, Perpetual
Codinopsis, Dang-Shen
Collards, Morris Heading, Heirloom
Collards, Vates
Coriander/Cilantro, Santo
Corn, Triple Play
Cornsalad
Cucumber, Japanese Green Ice (Improved)
Cucumber, Marketmore 76, Heirloom
Cucumber, White Wonder, Heirloom
Daikon, Korean
Eggplant, Imperial Black Beauty
Eggplant, Listida de Gandia
Eggplant, Round Mauve
Feverfew
Garlic
Granadilla, Sweet
Greens, Okahijiki
HYSSOP
Kale, Ethiopian
Kohlrabi, Early White Vienna, Heirloom
Lettuce, Baby Leaf
LETTUCE, BUTTERCOS, SUCRINE   
LETTUCE, BUTTERHEAD, BUTTERCRUNCH   
Lettuce, Iceberg
Lettuce, Mignonetter Bronze, Heirloom
LETTUCE, NEW RED FIRE
Lettuce, Tom Thumb, Heirloom
Melon,  Burrell's Jumbo
Melon,  Ginger's Pride
Melon, Canteloupe, Healy's Pride
Melon, Sweet, Sakata's Asian
Mint, Korean
Moringa stenopetala
Mustard Greens, India, Southern Curled, Long Standing
Naranjilla, Nicaragua
Okra 3 mths Sierra Leone
Okra, Burgundy
Pak Choy, Chinese, Heirloom
Parsley, Italian Survivor
Parsnip, Hollow Crown, Heirloom
Pea, Asparagus
Pea, Sugar, Oregon Sugar pod II
Pepper, Bell, Emerald Giant
Pepper, Bell, Purple Beauty
Pepper, Bell, Yellow (Lindos)
Potato, 9 Dings / Skagit Valley Gold
Potato, AWOL Dude
Potato, Finns Fingerling
Potato, October Blood
Potato, Skagit Beets
Potato, Skagit Valley Gold / Viva El Sol F1
Potato, Yukon Gold
Potato, Chieftain
Purple Echinacea
Quinoia, brown
Rutabaga, Laurentian, Heirloom
Spinach, Bloomsdale Long Standing, Heirloom
Squash, Winter, Blue Hubbard
Squash, Winter, Burgess Buttercup
Squash, Winter, Candy Roaster
Squash, Winter, Jaspee De Vende
Squash, Winter, Lacayote (Cucurbita ficifolia)
Squash, Winter, Red Kuri (Hokkaido)
Squash, Winter, Sweet Dumpling
Squash, Winter, Triamble
STEVIA
SUNFLOWER, RUSSIAN MAMMOTH
Thyme, english
Tomato, Angora Super Sweet-Tomato Seeds
Tomato, Black Cherry-Tomato Seeds
Tomato, Black Krim
Tomato, Black Plum
Tomato, Black Prince
Tomato, Black Sea Man
Tomato, Blondkopfchen Yellow, Cherry
Tomato, cherry, sungold
Tomato, Dona
Tomato, Earl of Edgecombe
Tomato, Green Zebra / Blue F2 1022809
Tomato, Isis Candy, Cherry
Tomato, Jaune Flamme
Tomato, Moskovich-Tomato Seeds
Tomato, Orange, Patio Orange, Heirloom
Tomato, Pantano Romanesco, Heirloom
Tomato, Stupice
Tomato, Sunset's Red Horizon
Tomato, Tasty Evergreen
Turnip, Purple Top White Globe, Heirloom
Violet, Sweet

[Dame]

Impressive.  You must have really good garden plot separation to not get cross pollination.

[The Future]

No.  I just work with what space I have.

[The Future]

Ok 576 individual cells filled and that is the starter pots done for the month.  The direct seed stuff is next up to bat.  Corn, beans, carrots, potatoes, ahipa here we come...

[The Future]

My uberlandia carrots are flowering!  They were planted Sep 23 so 6 months to flower.  Nice.....

Due to a misunderstanding, moringas in the yard, the few left standing, were cut to the ground.  I thought that was it and decided to see if guava would do better with thin soil over limestone in this ex-quarry.  Well a week or two later I found 3 had sprung leaves from the roots.  If pinching out makes plants bushy, these should be the ultimate bush!

I will plant guava in between or perhaps give moringa another try with the few seeds I have left.  At another location, a few tree are doing well.  3 to 4 fet tall even though they were planted in April or so.  Kinda cool.

And I am deep into planting again now.

7 types of squash - all short season and sweet
lettuce
12 types of tomatoes
painted corn
andean yam beans (in between corn)
herbs - cilantro, parsely, coriander etc.
chard
shark fin melon
chia
uberlandia carrot (thanks again Atash! Carrots that seed in the tropics!)
artichokes (the type to fruit in one season)
and lots more

The mangoes I have be savouring all summer are each getting a chance to reproduce.

To keep them as small as possible I will bury the pots in the yard.  Could not accomodate a full sized (huge) tree.